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“A Pod Person or a Carnal Christian?”

Thoughts for Today:

I'm sure you remember the 1956 film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." The story line goes somewhat like this: A small California town's local doctor is overwhelmed with patients accusing their loved ones of being impostors. Assured at first by the town psychiatrist the cases are nothing more than "epidemic mass hysteria," the doctor soon discovers the townspeople are in fact being replaced by simulations grown from plan-tlike pods. They are perfect physical duplicates who then kill and dispose of their human victims. The Pod People are indistinguishable from normal people, except for their utter lack of emotion. The Pod People work together to secretly spread more pods -- which originally came from outer space -- in order to replace the entire human race.

Every time I read Paul's words from our passage today, it makes me think of this movie. I look back on one of my own sinful acts and wonder: "Who was that stranger? It surely couldn't have been me. That's not how I feel, or think, or behave. Who was inhabiting my body?" It's almost like my mind and my body were temporarily hijacked in order to commit a crime while I watched helplessly as a spectator. Fortunately I haven't become a Pod Person. I know what inhabits me -- it is sin living in my body since the day of my birth.

Here's how to tell the difference between a Pod Person and a human, between an unbeliever and a carnal Christian: You can take the Pod Person and dress him up like a human, maybe spray on a little cologne and put a Bible in his hand. He might even go to church with you on Sundays. But what happens when he's with other Pod People? He goes back to being a Pod -- he knows who he is and stops pretending he's a Christian. The carnal Christian on the other hand, might find himself doing foolish things from time to time, but he will not be completely comfortable doing so. He will eventually come to his senses and say: "Get me out of here, I hate this stuff!"
This is exactly where Paul was in our passage today.

Questions to Ponder:

Do you doubt your own salvation? Have you ever wondered if you are a Pod Person (an unbeliever dressed like a Christian) or simply a Christian who gets lost in carnality from time to time? How comfortable are you with sin? Have you reached the endpoint -- when you finally say: "Get me out of here, I hate this stuff!" Acts 3:19: "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." Don't wait any longer, do it now: Repent and turn from sin to God.

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About the author

Pocket Devotions are written by Mike Brooks. A retired businessman, he is Moderator of South Shores church, leads the Deacon Board, serves on the finance committee, and he teaches a Men's Bible study and the Men's Ministry. Mike has a passion for evangelical missions. He is the husband of Sherry; the father of Ryan, Natalie, Krissy, Rebecca, and Amanda; the father-in-law of Ariel; and the grandfather of Conner and Christian.